Equinox 10 Day - Overnight in St. Maarten Info

[rclibertygirl5]

For those just off the first Equinox 10 day with the overnight in St. Maarten, how did it go? Did businesses and restaurants stay open right by the ship? Did you feel safe at night?

 

Any information would be appreciated. We leave on the 10 day in 11 days!!:)

[SCGirl3211]

Am interested in this information as well. Also impressions of the new World Class Bar. Thanks

 

Debbie

[AIROHS]

Ditto :)

[CroozinFamily]

We just got off Equinox. We went over to the French side for dinner. Highly recommend Bistrot Caraibes.

 

Our friends did an excursion with a sunset boat ride to the french side and cocktails and hors douveres. The bus was late taking them to the boat so they missed sunset. Other than that, they enjoyed it.

 

We did not hear anything negative from anyone who had been out and about right near the ship. However....when we returned from dinner the show on the ship was PACKED so I don't know how many people were roaming about in town.

[aquidneck1]

We stayed on board and had a nice dinner at Murano. Shows went on as usual, music etc. Casino and shops were closed.

 

Hated sitting in port with others looking in our windows. No view. Would much prefer to sail at night have another port.

 

Also, thought about the visitors exposing themselves to more mosquitos in the evening.

[DJSchib]

Was wondering about this topic as well and if a good idea to be out at dusk with the mosquitos

[Cruise Raider]

Was wondering about this topic as well and if a good idea to be out at dusk with the mosquitos

 

Although Aedes aegypti mosquitoes most commonly bite at dusk and dawn, indoors, in shady areas, or when the weather is cloudy, "they can bite and spread infection all year long and at any time of day."

[cb at sea]

You know, there are land vacationers AND folks who LIVE there! Restaurants will be open until normal hours...

 

Wearing a repellent, with DEET, is a good idea if you're worried about mosquitoes!

[pbrady]

Interesting to see "Casino and shops were closed". When this was discussed regarding the Eclipse overnight in Curacao, they said the Casino & shops were open. I wonder what the difference is between these two stops.

[tweetypie_67]

Most likely the difference between the casino and shops being open or closed when a ship is in port overnight has to do with the agreement between the cruise line and port. I have heard that the ships shops and casino are open at night when you are overnight in the Bahamas also. Going on the Eclipse Feb. 21 st with an overnight in Curaçao and would much rather be overnight in St Maarten!

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Yep... we're on the Eq and overnighting in St. Maarten this evening. According to the Celebrity Today (for today!), it appears no casino tonight... :(

 

When we originally booked this cruise there was an additional port (Dominica). Within a week, they dropped it and added the overnight here. I would have much preferred the original itinerary and "normal" shipboard nights/activities.

 

Tom

[Fouremco]

Yep... we're on the Eq and overnighting in St. Maarten this evening. According to the Celebrity Today (for today!), it appears no casino tonight... :(

 

When we originally booked this cruise there was an additional port (Dominica). Within a week, they dropped it and added the overnight here. I would have much preferred the original itinerary and "normal" shipboard nights/activities.

 

Tom

While Dominica isn't my favourite port, I'd much rather have an additional stop there than an overnight in St. Maarten or any of the other Caribbean ports. I hope Celebrity rethinks this whole overnight change for the Caribbean.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

While Dominica isn't my favourite port, I'd much rather have an additional stop there than an overnight in St. Maarten or any of the other Caribbean ports. I hope Celebrity rethinks this whole overnight change for the Caribbean.

 

It's one of the very few Caribbean ports we've never visited. Likely, it's pretty much like the others anyway... :(

 

Tom

[amsp]

It's one of the very few Caribbean ports we've never visited. Likely, it's pretty much like the others anyway... :(

 

Tom

 

Oh, Tom, you must make a point of going there. It is my very favorite Caribbean island. I am sorry to hear they chose this port to cancel. But, in November they canceled my entire cruise - a 10 night Southern Caribbean dream cruise out of San Juan.

 

Having just returned from 12 fabulous days on Dominica (our 8th time on the island, 6 of those on cruises), I can guarantee it is like no other port. There is no horrid mall with all the same ole, same ole stores. It is nature and beauty, wild and free. It is jungle and rain forest and river (365 of them if you count) more that beaches. But, there is amazing underwater life, you just walk on stone to get there, not sand.

 

There are no chain resorts, and the only U.S. chain restaurants are KFC and Pizza Hut. Which baffles me since the local pizza is amazing (Perky's is so good) and the fried chicken in the little lunchettes is far superior to KFC.

 

The closest I can come up with for comparison is St. Kitts back in 2000 or so before the Marriott moved in, Grenada, or the untamed parts of St. Lucia.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

I'll second Dominica as a fabulous island to visit. It was our favorite of a five port cruise. Titou Gorge is an interesting swimming experience (was featured in the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie), and Scotts Head was an amazing (and often overlooked) snorkeling location.

 

@amsp, Hi Ann, and say hi to Chris for us.

[tine-tine]

We too were disappointed at losing a days cruising, if we had wanted a land based vacation we would have booked one and really missed sailing on to another Port. Our experience on our B2B cruise was the same in St Maarten and Cartagena, very few guests left the ship, in fact we spoke to one of the Maitre'd and he checked the number of guest off ship in St Maarten at 2000 and there was approx 100! Looked similar in Cartagena, apart from guests on trips it appeared to be the crew that made the most of the time ashore!

 

World class bar has some lovely cocktails but the choice is greatly limited and although good, not nearly as good as the Molecular Bar, many are whisky based to reflect Diageo the parent company that uses this as a promotion for their brands.

[diesel1973]

We just got off Equinox. We went over to the French side for dinner. Highly recommend Bistrot Caraibes.

 

Our friends did an excursion with a sunset boat ride to the french side and cocktails and hors douveres. The bus was late taking them to the boat so they missed sunset. Other than that, they enjoyed it.

 

We did not hear anything negative from anyone who had been out and about right near the ship. However....when we returned from dinner the show on the ship was PACKED so I don't know how many people were roaming about in town.

Would you happen to know the name of the Excursion as we will be doing the same cruise next year? Any info. would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[amsp]

 

@amsp, Hi Ann, and say hi to Chris for us.

 

will do!! i thought of you while we tooled around the island. especially as we ate a picnic lunch at scotts head. do you do fb? if so, look me up.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

I don't do the Faceplant... err, Facebook thing much. I'm on it, but rarely check it. I'll try to make the effort to find you, though.

[reaperman]

For those just off the first Equinox 10 day with the overnight in St. Maarten, how did it go? Did businesses and restaurants stay open right by the ship? Did you feel safe at night?

 

Any information would be appreciated. We leave on the 10 day in 11 days!!:)

 

Having spent 10 days in sxm last winter and not coming from a overnight on a cruise ship. I think you will find St. Maarten a safe place to roam. What I would recommend doing since your not on a time restraint to get back to the ship. Is travel around the island on public transportation (vans). You can easily explore the entire island in just a few hours for a dollars. You would be at liberty to jump off a van at any desired destination and simply get back on another to continue. If you want to go to a popular destination, say, maho beach. Just catch the van with the "Maho/Mullet" sign on the front of the van. Most rides are $1 or $1.50 depending on distance. The driver will tell you as you get off. For me and my wife, I would simply give $3(US) wherever we went and they seemed happy. To catch the vans you will need to get into Phillipsburg either by water taxi or taxi, no public trans in the port area. Then just walk a few blocks away from the water. All of the vans gather on one street. Its easy to tell when your there or simply ask a local where to catch one. In Phillipsburg, vans will either say Maho/Mullet, or Marigot. The Maho/Mullet van will go through Simpson bay, then the Maho/Mullet area. Then simply switch its sign on the front of the van to say Phillipsburg and take the same route back in reverse. The vans are plentiful and you will never have to wait more than 5 minutes for one. The Marigot van stops at a little bus stop in Marigot where you will have to get off. If you want to continue to Grand Case, there will most likely be a van waiting there going that direction or one will be coming shortly. But all vans stop at this bus (van) stop in town to reverse direction. The drivers are friendly and helpful and all locals say hello to everyone as they climb in the van. I've hear people scoff at taking the local vans, saying they are slow, stop too much, etc. They do make stops along the way, yes, BUT the roads there are all two lane with no shoulders in most places. So any vehicles traveling behind the van are going to have to slow down or stop as the van does. Also the roads are very crowded so nobody is going anywhere in record speed. The last thing I would recommend anyone doing from a cruise ship is rent a car. Parking spots in sxm are almost non existent. There are plenty of transportation companies willing to escort you or a group around the island if you feel safer that way.

 

A suggestion for anyone looking for a nice quiet beach to spend the afternoon should consider Mullet bay. The water is calm and amazing. There are beach chairs/umbrellas for rent ($10/2) plus there's a little beach restaurant there also. It is pretty close to Maho (airport) beach so there is some airplane noise but not bad. Also its only about a 10 minute walk back to Maho beach from Mullet if anyone is interested in watching the planes. Plus, on the walk back to Maho you go through the town of Maho. Where you can find anything your looking for, subway, grocery's, etc. We found Mullet bay beach much more desirable than Dawn beach. Dawn beach is windy, wavy, plus seem to lack the colored carribean water. It's a big beach that stretches a long way, it's popular because there are a lot of restaurants/bars along its shores. If you like people, Dawn beach is where you want to head. If you have children, or just want to read a book by the beautiful calm water, Mullet's the place to be. Whatever you decide you wish to do, you will find it there. St. Maarten is a lovely place.

[hcat]

It's one of the very few Caribbean ports we've never visited. Likely, it's pretty much like the others anyway... :(

 

Tom

 

As others have mentioned...not at all like a typical Carib port...the unspoiled natural beauty is wonderful...no commercialism....worth at least one visit...or more

[reaperman]

We found Mullet bay beach much more desirable than Dawn beach. Dawn beach is windy, wavy, plus seem to lack the colored carribean water. It's a big beach that stretches a long way, it's popular because there are a lot of restaurants/bars along its shores. If you like people, Dawn beach is where you want to head. If you have children, or just want to read a book by the beautiful calm water, Mullet's the place to be.

 

Sorry for the mistake about Dawn beach, I made a error and was referring to Orient beach, not Dawn. We never visited Dawn beach

[JLightning11]

We'll be doing this cruise in November. Has anyone gone over to the French side for dinner? Any resturant recommendations?

 

Thanks

[cheeseheads4ever]

Thanks for input.so we are too staying in St Marteen overnite on Equinox in November. Is everyone saying they shut the casino onboard down all night?

[dandee2]

Interesting to see "Casino and shops were closed". When this was discussed regarding the Eclipse overnight in Curacao, they said the Casino & shops were open. I wonder what the difference is between these two stops.

 

Shops are open on land .